Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Elizabeth Lim!

Bio:

      Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, "Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that's kinda cool!" But after one of her teachers told her she had "too much voice" in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English.
      Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and she turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel -- for kicks, at first, then things became serious -- and she hasn't looked back since.
      Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the colour turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycling, and baking. She grew up in Northern California, with a brief stint in Tokyo, Japan, but now lives in New York City with her husband and their daughter.
​      Elizabeth graduated from Harvard College with a degree in music and a secondary in East Asian Studies, and completed her graduate degrees at The Juilliard School.
 ​     She is represented by Gina Maccoby of the Gina Maccoby Literary Agency.

What has she written?

She has written:

Now on to the Interview!!!

1) How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

         The first story I remember writing was in third grade. It was a mystery fanfic starring the twins from Sweet Valley. 

2) What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

         I want readers to fall in love with a new world, and to see that heroes come from all backgrounds. Most of all, I want readers to feel emotionally invested in my stories and characters, enough that they remember it long after they've finished reading. 

3) What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

        Read as much as you can, but listen too. A good ear can improve one’s writing immeasurably. 

Give yourself goals, not a timeline. 

Don’t let rejections get you down. Persistence is key. 

4) What is your favourite novel, why? 

         It's so tough for me to pick just one! I love most of the books I read, so I'm going to cheat a little and pick some favorites from the last month. As of December 2018, my favorites would be Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, Circe by Madeleine Miller, and The Light Between Worlds by Laura Weymouth.

5) Who is your favourite author, why? 

         Same problem as the question above! Right now, I'd say Madeleine Miller and Laini Taylor because they both have a magical way of turning the most mundane action into something beautiful with their prose. 

6) What are your favourite pass times besides writing? 

         I love writing music, reading, and traveling. Lately I’ve started to enjoy taking and editing photos. In typical neurotic-writer fashion, I also really like updating my calendar and making lists.  

7) Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most? 

         My mother

8) What are the top five things on your bucket list?

         1. See a shooting star

         2. Visit the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (and see its pillar-mountains)

         3. Learn to lucid dream

         4. See the Northern Lights

         5. Learn how to cook Cantonese cuisine

9) What is your funniest childhood memory? 

         When I was around 4 or 5, I loved playing pranks on my family. Sometimes I’d use red marker and draw all over my hands and pretend I was bleeding to freak out my parents, or pour tons of sugar into my aunt’s hot chocolate. I also really loved reenacting shampoo commercials in the shower in my bathing suit. 

10) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be? 

         Chasing adventure, a successful career, a way to change the world for the better are all admirable goals, but don't forget to prioritize love and building relationships that will last.